Background and Justification

The successful restoration or augmentation of declining fish populations is largely dependent upon the suitability of the habitat in which fishes reside, especially water quality and physical habitat structure. The Cape Fear shiner, Notropis mekistocholas, is an endangered species known from five small populations in the Cape Fear drainage in North Carolina. Water quality relationships are unclear, and no quantitative data exist on the physical habitat of this species, which hinders management, protection, and reintroduction efforts. Although the specific sources of habitat impairment and reasons for the decline of the Cape Fear shiner are not fully known, river impoundment, altered stream flows, and degraded water quality of tributaries and main stems are documented sources of impairment to the habitat. Because the Cape Fear shiner can be captively cultured and studied in the field using nondisruptive techniques, data specific to the species and the habitat of intended restoration are being developed.

Objectives

Multidisciplinary research has been initiated on the Cape Fear shiner to

(1) Determine if water quality is a limiting factor to the fish in the best remaining habitats and potential reintroduction sites through in situ exposures;

(2) Document habitat suitability by assessing contaminants in the best remaining habitats and potential reintroduction sites through chemical analyses, and review of existing data;

(3) Assess the protectiveness of water quality standards for primary pollutants based on laboratory, field toxicity, and water chemistry data;

(4) Quantitatively estimate population density and biomass of extant occurrences;

(5) Quantify physical microhabitat suitability from field studies at extant locations; and

(6) Conduct field habitat assessments to determine if physical habitat structure was a likely cause of extirpation at historical locations and if it is a limiting factor to the species in extant habitats and potential reintroduction sites.

Results of this research will complement previous vague population size reports, qualitative habitat descriptions, and laboratory toxicity tests by integrating quantitative population and habitat field methods and a variety of point and nonpoint-source contaminant exposures and environmental conditions to facilitate conservation and recovery efforts.

For details of results see

Howard, A.K. 2003. Influence of instream physical habitat and water quality on the survival and occurrence of the endangered Cape Fear shiner. Master of Science Thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh. 133 pages.

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